The career of Mario Götze could be organized into three chapters. The first is the buildup to his move to Bayern Munich, choosing to leave behind a beloved manager in Jurgen Klopp and the Borussia Dortmund side he longed to join since he was a boy in their academy.
The second chapter was his eventual transfer to the German giants and the trademark goal he scored at the Maracanã to deny Lionel Messi a World Cup title. But it was also defined by the ensuing struggles he faced in Bavaria as the midfielder failed to live up to the expectations placed upon him.
For most football fans who don’t pay attention to the Bundesliga, that’s typically where their understanding of his story ends: a man who scored one of the most important goals in World Cup history couldn’t keep up with the pace his own success demanded.
But perhaps, Chapter III is just as important as the goal. After his woeful return to Dortmund and falling off the radar as one of Germany’s elite, he rebounded with PSV Eindhoven and was called back to the World Cup squad for Qatar.
Since then, the now-34-year-old has built himself a tidy career at Eintracht Frankfurt – where he has just signed a contract extension.
The Götze of now is much different from the Götze of then. A father, he now admits that he is in the twilight of his career. Now, the midfielder has a greater appreciation for every aspect of the beautiful game and has learned to ‘enjoy the smaller things’ as his time on the pitch nears its end.
The career of Mario Götze is defined by one goal, followed by the struggles of an inability to hit the lofty standards and expectations placed upon him after his most famous moment
Götze (19) scored the most famous goal in German football history at the age of 22
After that goal, Götze flamed out at Bayern and Dortmund before a career resurgence
It’s could be hard to remember how lauded Götze was prior to scoring that famous goal at the age of 22.
He made his Bundesliga debut with Dortmund at age 17 and became a routine player in the top flight under Klopp in the 2009-10 season. A year later, he won the Bundesliga with the Schwarzgelben and took home Tuttosport’s Golden Boy award – an honor he shares with the likes of Messi, Wayne Rooney, and Kylian Mbappe.
The promise was clear. His speed and dribbling abilities even earned him the nickname of the ‘German Messi’ by none other than Franz Beckenbauer. He was front and center in commercials for Nike and became the first person to wear the iconic Magista boot he scored the goal in.
Perhaps the hype proved to be the very reason why his eventual regression was so shocking. Götze could be forgiven for eventually growing to hate the pressure that was put on him at that age.
But he doesn’t see it that way: ‘I mean, I was young. I was successful back then, of course, with Dortmund, with Bayern. I could play Champions League, I could play with the national team,’ Götze told the Daily Mail.
‘If you could choose something, you would always say, “okay, I take the positive things, no negative things, always like a very clean evolution and development, and you score and win and everything is good.” But that’s not life and that’s not football.
‘The first phase of my career and the successes I had, they were extraordinary. And that’s the standard. To keep that standard over 15, 20 years, I think that’s tough.’
A young Götze was widely lauded and hyped up to be the ‘German Messi’ by legends
Götze enjoyed a relationship with manager Jurgen Klopp and won titles with BVB
Eventually, an ambitious Götze made the move to his native Bavaria and Bayern Munich
But the highs were surely worth it. Even to this day, despite not feeling like it happened 12 years ago, Götze still gets asked relentlessly about his famous goal (‘You’re the very first,’ he joked to the Mail).
‘If I try to review it and still look at the memory, you know, it gets blurry and blurry over time. But every four years, there’s a World Cup, I scored that goal then it comes up more often.’
Even though it’s the thing he’ll be best remembered for, the discussion of the goal is not a topic of annoyance for the attacking midfielder.
‘When I look back now, in that moment, you don’t know what that means for the country, for myself,’ he recalls. ‘I played only 30 minutes in a game, scored one goal, and 12 years later you speak about the goal again. The perspective helps me a lot. It’s just a goal in the end.’
In the end, it is just a goal. But that one goal – like it or not – has become the defining moment of his career. It’s perhaps a real shame that at 22, such a moment was the pinnacle. With his talent, Götze should have been a player that threatened and dominated for years.
But the reality ended up being different. For Götze, it’s ‘not necessarily’ easy to accept.
‘In the end we’re still here talking about the goal,’ he said. ‘In the end, when I look back, it’s such a positive moment. When I was young, I always dreamed about playing in the World Cup, and then I had a chance, and then we even got to the finals, and I could even score a goal.
‘I said in the past, if I could rewrite it, I would say, “Okay, I score the goal at 35,” then I say, “Look, I’m done, I go home, I do something else.” But in the end, this was very good because it’s such a special moment and it’s very hard to get that chance, especially if you have, let’s say, a 12 to 16 years career.’
He was substituted on in the World Cup Final when he scored the goal that defined his career
At the age of 22, Götze was unaware that this moment would be the pinnacle of his football life
Götze: ‘If I could rewrite it, I would say, “Okay, I score the goal at 35,” then I say, “Look, I’m done, I go home, I do something else.” But in the end, this was such a special moment.’
The years after the goal weren’t so kind to Götze. He struggled to gain consistent playing time at Bayern Munich under Pep Guardiola due to injuries – but also due to inter-squad competition with the likes of Thomas Muller.
Two seasons after scoring the goal that defined him, Götze left Bayern to re-join Dortmund. At the time, he admitted regret at leaving BVB and missed working with Klopp.
But years later, time seems to have healed that wound: ‘I would say I always made the right decision in that moment – what I felt, what I think was the right thing to do. I would never regret anything and you never know what happened if I chose another way.
‘Of course, I was still young. I was 21, but what I learned from Klopp was amazing. What I learned from Pep was amazing. I had a very successful time. Then, I went back to Dortmund and I had [Thomas] Tuchel.
‘So the first three coaches I had were very phenomenal. Then, I had a not so good phase in Dortmund again, the four years, different coaches [Tuchel, Peter Bosz, Peter Stoger, Lucien Favre], not so successful.
‘So I can’t say that I regret it. But, of course, maybe if I stayed longer in Dortmund… now, it’s a bit difficult to say. I had a chance to go to Liverpool to work with Klopp again, but then I moved to Tuchel in Dortmund. You could also debate if that was the wrong decision. I think in the review, it’s easier.’
The move to Bayern Munich didn’t prove as fruitful as Götze hoped, leading to his departure
Four years at Dortmund saw Götze’s stock fall dramatically under multiple different managers
In need of a fresh start, Götze left Dortmund for PSV Eindhoven where he experienced a career resurgence under Roger Schmidt. PSV finished second in the Eredivisie twice and won the KNVB Cup in the 2021-22 season where Götze scored 12 goals and 11 assists.
Germany’s then-boss Hansi Flick noticed. Five years after his last appearance for the national team, Götze was called up to represent his country again at the World Cup in 2022. His callup coincided with a move to Eintracht Frankfurt, where he has played ever since and acted as a veteran statesman for Die Adler.
It could be fair to say the redemption was nearly as sweet as the goal itself. By proving capable of re-building his career, Götze reminded the world of his capabilities as a footballer.
‘I think the good and the bad are probably equally important,’ Götze admitted. ‘The expectation is, you play for Dortmund, Bayern and then you win the World Cup and say okay, that’s the expectation. To keep that level, I think it’s almost impossible.
‘From a media external perspective, of course they want you to stay on that level but this is – it’s impossible to do that. Maybe if you’re Messi or Ronaldo, of course, but otherwise it’s almost impossible.
‘So I think to have that perspective and also that satisfaction that that’s okay and that phase afterwards, it needs to be different. So the second, as you phrased it, the second and third [chapter], I totally agree. But it needed to be that way and I needed to have those ups and downs. Like in life, but also in football.’
In need of a fresh start, Götze excelled at PSV in the Netherlands before moving to Frankfurt
Götze’s redemption became complete when he was called back into the Germany national team and took part in his nation’s 2022 World Cup campaign in Qatar
Now, at 34, Götze is in the twilight of what has been a career of struggles and successes
At 34, Götze is content in this current chapter. He’s signed a contract to remain playing in Frankfurt and has a new perspective on his life – both inside and outside of the beautiful game.
‘I’ve played in Frankfurt for four years now. I have two kids, so I’m satisfied, I’m happy. I know that you can’t play forever,’ he admits. ‘So maybe, 1, 2, 3 years left and then you enjoy the smaller things more. And the things outside the pitch.’
Life is not always a novel. It’s not always defined by the conventions and constructs of good literature. Götze’s tale proves that. If it was sent for publication, an editor would return it and tell the author the climax happened too early in the storyline.
But there’s no more timeline. There’s no more expectation. The majority of the book on the career of Mario Götze has been written. Now, the final chapter gets to be finished by the man at the center of it all.
The highs have been reached, the lows have been managed, and there’s still pages waiting to be filled. All that’s left is for the man holding the pen to write to his heart’s content before setting it down with a final flourish, smiling, and closing the cover.
